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Is there a way to extract wallpapers from macOS installation CD without performing installation itself?

Yes, I understand 7zip can unzip dmg file as a simple archive. But what next? I don't see any wallpapers after unzipping.

My ultimate aim is to get the original unaltered desktop background pictures included with Mac OS X versions 10.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8 and 10.9.

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I admit this answer may be a little presumptuous of me.

Assuming I'm reading between the lines correctly, if all you're wanting to do is grab a copy of the macOS desktop background image from an earlier version of macOS, these are readily available from many websites.

For example, you can download 5K versions of these images at Every Default macOS Wallpaper – in Glorious 5K Resolution.

NOTE: I am not affiliated in any way with the website above.

[UPDATE}

After discussion with the OP it was established that what they were after were all the original desktop background pictures from Mac OS X versions 10.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8 and 10.9.

On the off chance anyone else will want/need these, I have uploaded a .zip file containing all of these in their original unaltered state. After clicking on the link just click on the button representing the download option you want (slow v turbo).

NOTE: The file was uploaded to uploadfiles.io at the request of the OP. I have no affiliation with this service.

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  • Thanks :-) Yes, I know about such websites. The problem is that wallpapers hosted on them are oftenly modified. I don't why these people think it will be a good idea to manually resize 3200 x 2000 into 5120 x 2880 or why it will be a good idea to change the exposure (brightness).
    – john c. j.
    Commented May 28, 2018 at 10:39
  • Ah ok, I’m surprised people would change the exposure, although I’m not surprised they may want to resize the images. Screen resolutions have changed significantly over the years and some earlier macOS wallpapers just don’t look good as wallpapers anymore on some displays. Of course, that’s assuming you wanted to use it as a wallpaper on a hi res display to begin with. So, getting back to your question, was their a particular macOS desktop background you were after? Or are you wanting to extract these from multiple versions of macOS?
    – Monomeeth ♦
    Commented May 28, 2018 at 11:00
  • Different backgrounds from different Mac OS (OS X, macOS, etc) versions. I want to create a collection of genuine ones :-)
    – john c. j.
    Commented May 28, 2018 at 11:09
  • Also, another problem is JPEG-compression. The same background hosted on 2 different sites sometimes has completely different file size: for example 15 MB on first site and 10 MB on the second, with the same dimensions (5120 x 2880).
    – john c. j.
    Commented May 28, 2018 at 11:15
  • Ok, the issue I have with this is that your question is rather broad. Not all versions of macOS were distributed via optical media. Also, when you say you're after a collection of backgrounds from different Mac OS (OS X, macOS, etc) versions, how far back are you trying to go? Just back to Mac OS X 10.0, or even further back to the Classic Mac OS days? Better still, which ones are you missing? I'm not trying to be difficult, it's just that I think the answer to extracting wallpapers from macOS installation CDs will differ depending on the version of macOS we're talking about.
    – Monomeeth ♦
    Commented May 28, 2018 at 22:15

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